~Inner Demons~

By: Aerys Krystie.

"…Fuck…"

Why couldn't Krad be joking about that? Why did his eyes have to be so serious and those tears be real? Why was it happening? Dante was powerful and could take out all the demons in the town but having help from a fucking Nephilim would make it a lot easier on him. What else could go wrong? Was Krad going to wake up the next day without his memories? Was he going to lose his eye sight? Were his limbs going to start falling off?

"Fuck!" Dante kicked one of the seats and it up-bolted itself. He ignored the stares he got from the passengers at turned his eyes to Krad. He opened his mouth to ask something but closed it again. What fucking use was that blond, now? As a human, Krad would tire out killing half a legion of demons. And what if there were more than a legion? As if that many wasn't bad enough. What had caused it? "Shit!"

Dante spun around and stormed back into the cart he had been when he woken up. A human Krad. That would explain the childishness. Krad had probably been like Vergil, too serious since birth. And who wouldn't be? Knowing you had the divine touch in you would be enough to make Dante buckle down and do the right thing. What was he going to do? Was there anything he could do to reverse the effects of the dart?

Dante paced the length of the cart as he thought. Krad was human. Krad could still use his blades and protect people. A window smashed and Dante killed the demon without looking at it. He wasn't in the mood to deal with anything at the moment. Where did Krad keep his blades anyway? Dante knew Krad reached behind him to get them but there was never any indication that he was concealing a weapon. And unless it was a shirt he slept in, the blond's tops were form-fitting. There was no way that Krad could have his weapons on him. Angelic objects. They were useless with Krad's angel half being locked away and Dante groaned.

Why couldn't that dart have hit me instead? Dante sighed. He already knew the reason behind it and he looked up when he heard Krad scream his name. He ran into the cart and saw Krad cowering in a corner as a demon moved closer. And now that he's completely vulnerable, Dante thought as he sliced the low level creature, he's going to be a walking beacon for them. His virtue is heavenly. Oh fuck! He's over a thousand years old! What will being human do to him? Will he age overnight? Dante grabbed Krad's wrist and took him back to the other cart and sat him down as he paced again, still thinking.

Dante looked at Krad, who stared back. Gold eyes that held fear. They weren't glowing. Whatever was in that dart had locked away every ounce of angel that Krad had in him and that was a bad thing. That could mean he would age rapidly. Rapid age would mean death and that was something Dante wasn't going to deal with. They had to stop. They couldn't go to the town. Dante couldn't protect Krad, the town, the townspeople and fight the demons. That was just too much for one half-breed. Dante informed Krad of his decision and the blond nodded

Fifteen minutes later, Azalea and Phim returned. They immediately noticed Krad's eyes and started firing questions. Krad just said a light went off inside of him and that it would be back soon enough. Dante frowned slightly. Krad had been living in the same town as Azalea for two years and she never picked up that he was half-angel? Granted, it took Dante a while to figure it out, too and hell, he was still trying to get over the fact that angels existed. But if you see someone with glowing eyes they're either not human or a character from a Square Enix game. The first one seemed more probable than the latter. Dante shook his head. That was getting off-topic and he told the other two they were getting off at the next town for the next couple of days. If they had a problem with it, Dante didn't care if they returned to their homes, which had probably been destroyed by that time. They didn't have a problem with it and Dante raised an eyebrow.

The driver announced their arrival at the town and they got off. Dante took them to a hotel and they got their rooms. The girl and the man had separate rooms and Dante was going to be sharing one with Krad as he wasn't going to leave the blond alone. Wherever Krad went, Dante was going to follow. When Krad found out about that, the blond shifted and Dante emphasized that having a shower or a bath was part of 'everywhere'. Krad just blushed like a kid that had heard the word 'boobies' for the first time and nodded. Dante told the other two to get some rest.

Once in the room, Krad threw himself on the bed and snuggled the pillow. "This isn't fair! I can't even access my archive!" he whined and tried suffocating himself.

Dante pulled Krad up from the pillow, not wanting to deal with pissed off archangels if Krad was to kill himself because of a slight setback. "There has to be some way of reversing it. We'll get some rest then hit some places when the sun is up. I'm sure someone in a town like this knows something. So just sleep."

Krad nodded and undid his boots. How could he wear them so long? His feet were aching. He got under the covers of the bed and stared at the ceiling. The neon lights from various places outside of the window shined through the thin curtains. How could Dante be so calm about it? Krad assumed because it wasn't happening to the half-demon. Krad glanced at the man, who was on the sofa. I'm useless right now. Why is he even bothering to try and help me? Krad turned onto his side and closed his eyes. He really hoped there was a way to reverse it. He hated being weak and pathetic.

Dante opened his eyes when he heard Krad get up. Actually, it was after he heard Krad hiss in pain when the blond kicked one of his boots. Even as a human Krad had the stealth of an angel just not the grace of one. That was made painfully clear when Krad tripped over something in the bathroom and there was a clutter. What the hell could he have possibly found to trip over, besides his own two feet? Dante got up and went to the bathroom, opening the door. The ex-angel had managed to pull the First Aid locker from the wall.

Great. He's a hazard when he's an angel and he's a hazard when he's human. I am so fucked. Dante looked away as Krad undressed and pulled back the curtain shower. When he heard the curtain close, he kept the bathroom door open and went into the room, looking out the window. It was a sunny and warm day. It would've been perfect, if not for their conundrum. Dante looked at the bathroom when Krad suddenly cried out, "Haven't these people heard of 'No More Tears' by Johnson and Johnson?" Dante raised an eyebrow and sighed. Great. It was going to be a fan-fucking-tastic day.

Twenty minutes later, Krad walked out of the bathroom, his hair down. "How on earth do I do my hair without magic? How do you tie laces? Is my shirt on correctly?"

Dante blinked. "Was there anything you didn't rely on magic for?" He pulled Krad's shirt off, turned the right way around and inside out and put it back on. He took the blond over to the bed and sat him down, putting his boots on.

"Of course there was! I just can't remember any right now." Krad watched closely as Dante did up the laces on his boots. "You make it look so easy!"

Dante shook his head. Today is going to be murder. I'm going to murder him. I know I will. Dante looked at Krad, waiting for the blond to hand me the brush. "Where's your brush?"

Krad shrugged. "It usually appears when I need it, since two years ago when I lost my hairbrush I kept one with me all the time."

"Angels are fucking lazy! You can kill demons with a look, you can do magic for the basic things in life and you get laze about on fluffy clouds eating grapes! Demons really got the short straw."

"Blame Lucifer! If it wasn't for him, you wouldn't be doing all of this complaining!" Krad pouted and looked away.

"Where's the hair tie you were using yesterday?"

"I think that went down the drain."

"Everything has gone down the drain." Dante sighed and stood, pulling Krad to his feet as well. "We're going out."

Without listening to a word that Krad was saying, Dante pulled the blond out of the room and then out of the hotel and onto the busy streets. As they walked, Dante looked around for a place that could hopefully tell him anything about what was happening with Krad. The blond complained the entire way about how walking was really tiring and that the magic that used to fuel his body was being sorely missed. Krad wasn't the only one missing it.

If Krad continued to complain that way, Dante was going to bind him and gag him. That would be that. It was getting harder and harder to block out the whining voice of the angel as he complained that his hair felt funny and his eyes were stinging and his feet were hurting and it was too hot. Basically, everything Krad never used to complain was coming out in buckets and Dante was seconds from snapping when he felt something.

They stopped outside of an alley and Dante looked down it. There was a presence down there. There was another demon in town and Dante needed something to work his frustrations out on. He pulled Krad into the alley and of course, the blond complained that it smelt funny and that it was dirty and that he had just had a shower. Dante gritted his teeth. Before he could completely snap, they came upon a door. It was black and had a red pentagram on it. It was done the right way to symbolize protection instead of devil worship. Dante knocked, deciding to be polite about the thing. It was bad enough that Krad's complaining would probably insult whoever on the other side.

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?" a voice asked from the other side.

Dante blinked. What kind of a question was that? "Did you want the answer Carroll came up with or the real answer to that silly riddle?" Krad shot back.

Dante frowned slightly as the door opened and an elderly woman stood in front of them. Her watery gray eyes studied the two in front of them. "Well, well, well," she chuckled. "The son of Sparda and a very pretty little boy. What brings the son of the legendary Demon Knight to my door?"

"The very pretty little boy has a problem and I got the feeling that you might be able to help him. Judging by the fact that there is a demon in there, I assumed you were accustom to my kind but perhaps not his." Dante shifted.

"I deal with humans, also. Please, come in and I'll see what I can do for your little friend." The woman stepped to the side and the two walked past her, down the hall and through the beaded curtain before she could close the door.

Dante threw Krad onto one of the sofas and told him to stay. Krad stuck his tongue out and got to his feet, wandering around the large room. He looked at the candles that lit the area and tilted his head to the side. "I thought red candles were used for romance spells?" he muttered to himself, jumping when there was a gentle giggled to his right. He stared at the girl there, who smiled shyly at him. "Hi!"

"It isn't very often we get humans as pretty as you in here," the girl whispered as she bent at the waist, taking Krad's chin in her long fingers. "Nor do we get humans that are fully grown males at five foot two."

"Hmph!" Krad turned his head away defiantly and ignored Dante's warning about the girl being the demon he sensed. Krad could care less. She was taking too much pleasure in teasing him about his height and he got enough of that from Dante and everyone else that knew him. He knew he was short! People had to get over it sooner or later. It just appeared that most preferred to get over it later.

"Be careful, Krad. She's powerful and she's a succubus." Dante eyed the girl cautiously. She had taken too much of an interest in Krad and whenever someone did that, it always put Dante on guard. Especially when they didn't know what they were dealing with.

The old woman joined them as the girl moved over to the silver haired man. "Sylvia, that's the son of Sparda, I would suggest you go back to toying with the human, while I get the information out of him." Her granddaughter pouted but did as she was told. "So, what is the problem with your little human friend? Is he having a difficult time getting it up or does he have trouble finding a girl?"

Dante snorted. "He has the libido of a stick and he's gay. He's got men and women panting after him, so I don't think that's his problem. Actually, we're here for something that isn't what you normally do. Hexes and shit won't work with him, I don't think. He's a Nephilim."

The old woman's eyes widened and Sylvia hissed, backing away. "Nephilims haven't existed for eons. Not since the second war in heaven," the old woman said.

Dante raised an eyebrow. "Wrong. There were twin Nephilims born fifteen hundred years ago. He killed the evil one two years ago and now he's been turned human. I wanted to know if you could unlock the angel in him." How the hell was it possible that until two years ago Dante had no idea what a Nephilim was but everyone else in the world knew it? That was a little unfair.

Sylvia looked at the man that had brought the boy in. "The son of Sparda wants something as deadly as a Nephilim to regain its full power? Why did you not to go to the angels for help?"

"Because if it was something only they could reverse, they would've shown up by now. Krad, did you want to tell them what happened?"

Sylvia stepped closer to the blond again, looking him over. Being a Nephilim explained his beauty and the heavenly scent of his virtue. "Krad? The son of Gabriel?"

Krad frowned. "You know a little too much about me, woman. Where did you get that information? No-one knows who my father is, except me and…Sugar! I should've known Dark would talk!"

Sylvia smirked and circled the Nephilim, enjoying his scent. She knew it would be driving the son of Sparda insane being around it so often. "I did hear something, but it will cost you."

Krad raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth but Dante got in first. "Look, Sylvia, if you want his virginity, get in line. I already called first dibs on it. Besides, I don't think he could get it up for you."

Sylvia stopped walking around Krad and faced the silver haired man. "I can change my appearance to the one being he finds attractive and that's you. However, I don't want his virginity. I just want a mouthful of his blood."

The old woman gasped and Krad narrowed his eyes. "You do realize that when you tell me how to get back my angel-ness, I'll have to kill you."

"And I could kill you right now and rid the world of Nephilims until the next lot is born."

"Did you really want to piss my daddy off? If you fear Sparda then I know you fear my father more."

Sylvia shifted. She weighed her options. Either way, she was going to die. But in the meantime, she could have some fun with the sweet blood of the Nephilim in her. "You can kill me after you get your angelic powers back because frankly, without your magic to help you, you look like shit. What I heard was that there was a demon and someone else that wants to kill you and the son of Sparda. Don't worry, Dante, Vergil is still being tortured by Lucifer so it's not him. This demon is closely related to the pretty Nephilim, Zuriel. The demon that resides over the star sign of Libra and the one that used to be so close your daddy."

Krad's eyes widened. Zuriel used to be the angel that resided over the star sign of Libra until the second war in heaven, where he turned against the angels, thinking that the Nephilim of that time would reign supreme. Obviously that Nephilim failed and Zuriel, along with two legions of angels were kicked from heaven and Zuriel became the demon of the star sign. That would mean that Zuriel had the ability to use his celestial powers and Krad knew that was never a good thing.

"And who is the 'someone else'?" Dante asked.

"Just some slutty witch that had probably concocted a potion to lock away Krad's angel. And if I know her right, and I should, seeing as she was taught by me, the only way possible for Krad to go back to normal is not the best way for an angel. Of course, being gay makes it better for you, sweetie."

Krad blinked. What was she talking about? "What are you on about, woman?"

"What is the one thing an angel has that a demon doesn't?"

"Grace and virtue," Krad answered without thinking. "And that's two things that we have. So, I gotta get laid and hope that solves my problems?"

Sylvia nodded and stepped back. "If you're lucky it will help. Of course, you have to have sex with the person you love and they have to love you in return. Do you think the son of Sparda loves you? Or does he just love your body and the fact that you're a virgin?" Sylvia smirked as she saw doubt in Krad's eyes and picked up a knife, handing it to the blond. "Now, keep your end of the bargain, Nephilim. A mouthful of your blood."

Krad took the knife. "Krad, don't! Do you have any idea what your blood will do to a demon, even a lowly one like a succubus?"

Krad glanced at Dante and sighed. "I know exactly what it'll do to her. But a deal is a deal. She told me how to reverse –"

"She told you what might work, Krad. You should try it out and then give her your blood." Dante walked up to the blond and took the knife from him, handing it back to Sylvia. "If she drinks your blood and having sex with me doesn't work, there's no way I'll be able to kill her."

"You didn't know what a Nephilim was two years ago but you know what'll happen if someone drinks my blood?"

"I know what'll happen when a demon drinks an angel's blood, Krad. It's the same if they drink the blood of an infant. Their power increases to the point where high level demons have to take them out or worse, Lucifer himself drags his ass out of hell for them." Dante glared at Sylvia, who took the knife back. "We'll be back."

"Very well. I hope you enjoy the taste of him, son of Sparda. I know I will. Just remember what I said, Krad, son of Gabriel. If he doesn't love you, nothing will happen." Sylvia smirked as Dante dragged Krad out of the room. She looked at her grandmother. "Twenty-four hours should be long enough for the Nephilim to give me."

The old woman's appearance wavered and she transformed into a young lady with long auburn curls and piercing green eyes. "I don't see why the Nephilim had to get involved. Zuriel is a demon now. Even if he does use his celestial powers, they won't kill the half-breed. If he wounds him to the point of death, he'll have to deal with Gabriel or worse, Michael."

Sylvia looked at her grandmother. "Tell me something, Constance, why didn't you ask for payment as well? Together, we could cause a lot of damage and have a lot of fun."

Constance smiled. "I'll get my payment, granddaughter. They just don't know it yet."

Dante's heart pounded in his chest as he thought about what he had just heard. He had to have sex with Krad? And the blond couldn't say no? God…or Lucifer was smiling on him. They got back to the hotel and Dante went into the room. He faced Krad as he locked the door, after putting the 'Do Not Disturb' sign up. Krad shifted and adverted his gaze to the floor. Of all ways, why did that have to the only path for him to get back his angelic powers? Killing some innocent person would've been a lot easier. Krad glanced at Dante and stared. I never knew he could look like that…

End Chapter III.